Behind Every Whisper
by JayJe
Summary: The team go on a camping trip. Morgan and Prentiss get lost while looking for firewood. But did they get lost on accident, or is there some supernatural force leading them down the wrong path? And what are the noises they keep hearing? I own nothing!
1. Chapter 1

**Sooo, this is my response to PYOP challenge. Pairing X get lost in the forest during a camping trip. Erm, this is the woods. Are they the same thing? **

**Anyways, it's probably not what you are expecting. I watch too much Charmed, Buffy, Supernatural. You'll see it is defiantly off-canon. Not to mention, this is my first "real" (long) story. Hope it's not too confusing. Tell me what you think! :)**

**Everything is un-betaed. Forgive me? **

Behind Every Whisper

She was running. Her blonde hair whipped behind her while her clothes were plastered to her sweat-soaked body. The shoes she wore on her feet squished in the mud and brown splatters painted their way up her legs.

The adrenaline pumping through her veins further heightened her senses to her surroundings. She could hear the branches and leaves rustling as she pushed them out of her way. Her tongue ran across her lips and tasted the coppery, tang blood that easily slid down her dry, scorched throat. The hairs on the nape of her neck stood straight while sending goosebumps down her spine. She could feel them watching her from the shadows. Following her and matching her every footstep with their own.

Suddenly a hand wrapped around her ankle and pulled her down. She rolled onto her back and watched as the hand slid back into the ground. She watched with wide eyes in both fascination and fear. Her heart was racing and her whole body was shaking. Her breathing became short and forced. With the adrenaline building up, she tried sitting up to continue running when she noticed the trees were quickly closing in on her. Faces started to mold their way through the bark. Hands reached back up around her torso and neck before pulling her into the dirt as well. Her rough voice screamed, but was never heard.

Just as Emily Prentiss was getting comfortable after turning her alarm off, her phone started to vibrate on the nightstand next to her.

A muffled groan escaped past her lips as she dug her head deeper into the white, plush pillow.

She reached over and flipped her phone up to read Caller I.D. When Morgan's name popped up she sighed exasperatedly. She hit the 'talk' button and pressed the phone to her ear. "What?"

"Ouch. Someone's in a bad mood." Morgan chuckled on the other end. "Are you ready? I should be at your apartment in 15 minutes."

Prentiss rubbed her sleep crusted eyes with the back of her hand. "Ready for what?"

"You're kidding!" When he didn't hear a reply he reiterated slowly. "You are kidding, right?"

"Um, no. I have no recollection of last night," She looked down at her attire. She still wore her suit pants. Her blouse was white and wrinkled. And she was only wearing one sock. "but I'm guessing by what I'm wearing and the fact that I have a killer hangover, we went drinking after the case?"

"That would be one thing that happened last night." He laughed while coming to a stop at a red light. "Do you remember making plans to go camping today?"

"No, because I never would."

"Oh, but you did, Princess."

"I did?" She laid back down on the pillows and rubbed her temples with her fingers. "Is everyone going?"

"Yes and yes." He chuckled as the light turned green.

"Even JJ?"

"Yes, it was her idea actually. She told us she wouldn't trust anyone else to help her get over her fear of the woods. But she wanted to experience it before she dies. That's when we found out you've never been camping either."

"I couldn't have been sober."

Morgan ignored her last statement. "I should be there in 5 to help you pack." They hung up and within minutes Morgan was at her doorstep like promised.

They had her bags pack in about 30 minutes and were heading out to pick up Reid.

Within a few hours all 7 BAU members, plus Jack and Haley, were setting up tents in the small, open space they had found.

"Let's make S'mores!" Reid shouted excitedly.

"Kid, I don't think you need anymore sugar." Morgan grumbled. He was right, Reid had been prattling off about statistics and activities they could do to occupy themselves for the weekend.

Reid's brow scrunched together before he replied, "But I haven't had any sugar."

"Never mind."

"Hey," JJ perked, "I wouldn't mind S'mores. It'll probably help settle the butterflies swarming in my stomach."

"Well, okay then." Hotch said, "Looks like we're having S'mores."

Jack could be heard clapping from behind his father.

"We'll need to build a fire first." reminded Rossi. The team started looking for branches and twigs to start the fire. When they couldn't find many pieces of wood, Morgan and Prentiss volunteered to look deeper into the woods.

It was still fairly light out, but with the sun was quickly going down, they had their flashlights just in case.

"Wow, it got cold really fast, didn't it?" Morgan looked over at Prentiss while speaking. She'd been silent, speaking only a few words, since they'd arrived. Right now she had her hands in her pockets and was biting her bottom lip. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" She looked up at him surprised, as if she just heard him speaking.

"You're not afraid of the woods are you?"

"What? No." Her eyes where wide while she starred at him.

He changed his demeanor from humorous to serious when he looked into her eyes. He never meant to scare her when he dragged her along. "Emily, it's okay if you are. We're all afraid of something. Heck, you wouldn't be the only one. JJ's afraid as well."

"I know. And I'm not. I just-I don't know. I have a bad feeling about this." Her eyes returned to their original concentration of watching the ground pass around her.

"Well, don't worry about that. I'll protect you." He got a smug look on his face when she laughed softly at his joke. Earlier that day they were talking about how Morgan would always play the knight in shinning armor. He laid his left hand on the small of her back while he turned on one of the flashlights to continue looking for wood. "Come on, let's get this over with."

Little did they know that beady eyes were following them from the silent abyss in the shadows.

**Honestly I don't know when the next update will be. I promise I'm constantly trying to work on it, but this stress from school is really slowing me down in more ways than one. I'm putting this last. I'm trying to get Honor Roll before the 6 weeks is up, Wednesday, but that's hard. Not to mention 6 clubs and Color Guard. But do keep an eye out for another update sometime, don't know when, but sometime. :)**

**Tell me what you think! :D**

**~JayJe**


	2. Just the Beginning

**Sorry it's been awhile. I've been super busy. Literally, but Marching Season just ended, so I have a little more free time until Winterguard starts up. Until then, I will try and update faster, but no promises. **

**Anywho...anyone understand Pre-Cal? I'm lost. **

**Enjoy! :)  
**

"Hopefully they aren't lost." JJ worried.

Hotch looked up from getting the Marshmallows out of a bag to respond. "They've been gone for five minutes. I don't think they're lost."

"Five minutes is a long time in the woods."

Reid perked up. "Do you know there's a myth about these woods." He sat down on one of the folding chairs. "About a hundred years ago there was a family that lived in a house somewhere in the woods. The mom, the dad, the 10 year old son, and his 7 year old sister." The rest of the team gathered around to hear the story while they waited. "Anyways, one night there was a fire at the house. The parents smelled the smoke and woke up to rush to the kids rooms so they could get them out.

"Once everyone was awake they ran downstairs but a beam fell on the mother. She was trapped underneath. The father didn't want to leave his wife, but, at the same time, he didn't want his kids hurt.

"He ushered the kids outside and told them to run to their neighbors a mile away. He asked his son to watch out for his sister and protect her. They had nothing else but each other.

"When the kids were gone, the husband went back inside to try and lift the beam. But by then the fire was spreading quickly and they were both engulfed by the flames."

"What happened to the kids?" JJ asked.

"No one really knows. They were never found. Some people believe they made it to their neighbors. Some people think they got lost and starved to death. And others say that there was a serial killer on the loose that found and killed them."

"Mommy?" Jack looked up at his mother. "I'm not going to die, am I?"

Hailey shot Reid a scorned look before looking down at her son. "No sweetie, you aren't."

"Good, cause I wanna live forever!"

/

Meanwhile, Morgan and Prentiss walked slowly through the trees. Prentiss still had an uneasy feeling lying at the bottom of her stomach. She was comforted by the fact that she wasn't walking alone, but she still had goose bumps crawling their way up her arms and neck. She was just about to tell herself that she was superstitious and there nothing was going to jump out at her, it was just the paranoia that came with the job, but then she started to feel something tickling its way up her arm. She looked down and screamed. The two logs she was holding dropped to the ground.

"What? What's wrong?"

"Spider! Spider, get it off!" Morgan quickly grabbed her wrist to stop her from flailing her arm everywhere. He picked up a twig laying nearby and placed it in front of the spider. He gently guided the spider onto the stick with his finger. Then he placed the twig in the grass.

"Relax, it's off."

"Are you sure? There aren't more of them, are there?" She asked while checking herself over.

"Yes I'm sure. There are no more spiders." He laughed quietly while watching Prentiss double check herself.

When she was done looking for more spiders, she cautiously picked up the logs she dropped and proceed to look for more.

The woods were bare. The ground consisted of dirt and leaves. Most the branches were still attached to their trunks.

There was no sound expect for the crunches from the dead leaves. There were no crickets or bugs flying and buzzing around. There was no howling from the wind. One could assume the woods were dead or non-existent if not for the fact that a couple hundred black spiders began to crawl their way up soft, pale flesh.

/

"Where are they?" JJ began to wonder again. "It's been 30 minutes."

"Maybe they couldn't find wood." Reid answered.

"It's the 'woods'. I'm sure they've found wood by now."

"JJ, calm down." Hotch intervened when he saw JJ's breathing start to speed up. "Don't let the paranoia get to you. It hasn't been that long."

JJ looked at her boss sternly but didn't say anything. She waited patiently for a few more seconds before she heard a high-pitched wail in the distance. She wanted to brush it off as an animal, but when it continued it began to sound more and more human. She turned her head to the sound and tried peering through the trees when she heard children laughing softly to her right?

"Did anyone hear that?" She asked.

Rossi looked up from his news paper confused. He listened silently before replying, "Hear what?"

**Sooo, what do you think? Good, bad, okay? If there is anything you want to see, just tell me. I'll try and incorporate anything I can. I need ideas. Oh, and does anyone have/know any good stories. Mainly Prentiss centered? I like H/P and M/P most. And I don't like Rossi. But my searches for unread stories have been scarce. :(**

**Thanks!  
**


	3. Where'd They Go?

**Woah, what do you say to that? Two uploads in what? Two days? For me, that's pretty incredible! I feel as if I accomplished something. But yeah, I started writing this and couldn't stop. It was addicting. :) I loved the rush! **

**Thanks to everyone that mentioned a story or author to read, I'll tell you that I have read most of those, there were a few unfamiliar ones, so I'll get to those soon, but there were a lot I've read before. Anyways, I just wanted to say thanks! :)  
**

Emily Prentiss screamed until her voice was lost and only air came out. She was one who hardly ever screamed. She liked to keep her emotions in check, it was how her mother raised her, but when hundreds of black spiders crawled and tickled their way up her body, she began to lash out.

She couldn't see her clothes, she couldn't see her skin, she was painted black by insects. She brushed the spiders off but they just continued to crawl their way right back.

Some gnawed into her skin, leaving giant, red welts covering her arms and legs. She could feel the burning and itching underneath the blanket of Black Widows.

Some spiders crawled over each other so they could climb higher, towards her face. Her white, pale neck quickly changed to black. She closed her mouth before they could crawl there too. Her screams turned muffled.

Her legs carried her around the clearance they were in before her foot caught in a loose root and she fell to the ground. When she looked up she saw Morgan running over to her with a confused and panicked expression.

"What? What's wrong? Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He started to grab her by the arms to help pull her up when he noticed she flinched away from his touch. If he wasn't confused before, he certainly was now. She was shaking and her eyes were wide. "What happened? Why are you so scared?"

"What?" She whispered before looking down. Her clothes were back and she could see her skin. Not a single spider was crawling anywhere around her. The red bites were gone as well as the itching and burning. "Where did they go?" Her breathing was forced and staccato.

"Where did what go?" Morgan asked.

"The spiders. There were hundreds, if not thousands, crawling all over me. They bit me and I tried to fling them off, but they came right back. Then I tripped and their gone. How?"

Morgan looked around before daring to look at her again. He wasn't liking this side of Prentiss. She was usually collected, but right now everything she was saying made him seriously concerned for her well-being. He looked back at her to see she was patting herself down and frantically looking around. "Prentiss. Prentiss, look at me." He waited for her to look up. "There are no spiders around. There weren't any spiders before. There never were. Are you feeling okay? Did you hit your head?"

"NO! I didn't hit my head, dammit. I saw them. I swear. I'm not hallucinating or anything. They were here." She started yelling as her frustrations got the better of her.

"I think we should try getting back to the campsite, with or without logs, we need to get you checked out." The concern was evident in his voice and she could easily read his emotions in his eyes. While she was touched, she was pissed that he didn't believe her.

He reached out his hand to help her up, but she refused. She got up herself, while still trembling, carried herself through a part of the woods on wobbly legs.

/

Rossi looked up from his newspaper confused. He listened silently before replying. "Hear what?"

"You didn't hear that? I heard someone screaming. It sounded kind of like Emily for a moment."

Hotch looked at JJ. "No one heard anything. No one screamed. I think you should rest until they get back. You've been letting everything get to you."

"What? I don't need to rest." She looked at each of her colleagues, friends, incredulously. "I heard laughing as well. They sounded like children. Two or three of them, I don't know, but I heard 'something'. I know I did."

Her boss looked around nervously, almost as if he was seeking guidance. "Please, just go lay down or something. We'll wake you when they get back."

"I-fine." She got up off her log and slowly walked towards her tent. Hoping to hear something else, anything that would help her prove she was right. When she got in her tent, she zipped it up and laid down. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to relax the butterflies flying around in her stomach.

"_Help her! She needs you!"_ A young boy whispered in her ear. JJ's eyes shot open. She thought Jack was in the tent with her, but she didn't see him anywhere around. "Jack? Are you out there?" When she didn't hear a reply, she tried laying back down.

"_What are you doing? Help her!"_ This time it was a girl. She sounded no older than 10.

Then JJ heard the laughing she heard from before. Goosebumps started to crawl their way up her arms and neck. She looked around for anyone, _anything. _There was nothing. Total silence in total darkness.

"Who's there? Where are you?" Her only response was more laughing. A cold wind wrapped it's way around her and caused her to start shivering. A few seconds later she heard the zipper to her tent start to unzip it's way down. She screamed.

/

"Do we have any idea where we are going?" Prentiss asked.

"No, we could be going in the complete opposite direction." Morgan answered.

They were both tired. They were dragging their feet and their eyelids drooped low. Prentiss would still check herself for spiders every few seconds, or look around to see if any were coming, but so far she'd found none. Her adrenaline went down, but it was enough to keep her walking at a faster pace.

"WHOA! What the hell was that?" Morgan ducked and yelled.

Prentiss turned around and looked up to where he was looking. She saw nothing. "What? There's nothing there."

"I don't know. I thought it was a bat. Maybe it was a shadow. It was probably nothing. Don't fret over it." He started walking ahead of him but continued to keep looking up. He didn't want Prentiss to think he was going crazy as well. Not that he thought she was going crazy, but he thought she was letting her inexperience and fears cloud her better judgment.

The darkness had clouded over and settled a while ago. The tree branches blocked the light illuminated by the moon. They could barely see their own hands, let alone each other.

So, when Morgan felt a cold wind whip past his right ear he turned his attention there, thinking he brushed up against leaves or something, but when he heard a shriek next to his left ear, he flinched. His eyebrows where furrowed together and his eyes looked around frantically. When he saw Prentiss was giving him a confused looked, he took a deep breath and re-routed his attention to where he was going.

Prentiss followed but kept a close eye on him.

Then Morgan saw a large, black bat flying straight towards him while shrieking. He ducked and screamed.

Prentiss, on the other hand, saw nothing.

Where were they and what was happening?

**BAM! Tell me what you think? Anything you want to see? :)**


	4. Whispering to the Dead

The zipper continued it's path up the tent until it reached the top. Then the entrance to the tent parted. JJ continued to scream.

Hotch rushed into the tent. He grabbed his friends shoulders and tried to steady her. She was shaking and sweat was forming on her brow. "JJ." He said sternly. When she didn't listen to him, he repeated, only with more force exerted into his voice. "JJ! Stop screaming. It's me. It's Hotch."

JJ must have heard him on some level because she turned her head towards him and focused her eyes on his. When she finally recognized him, her screams turned into whimpers and she leaned into his embrace that he quickly offered.

"What happened?" He asked after waiting to hear her breathing slowly return to normal.

"I-I don't k-know. I heard v-voices. T-they were children. I t-think." The tremor in her voice was audible.

Hotch rubbed his hands up and down her arms to try and further relax her. "Shh." He continued to coax her. "There's no one here anymore. I'm sure it was just a dream."

"No!" She all but yelled. "It wasn't a dream. I 'never' went to sleep. I barely closed my eyes. I heard them, dammit, I heard them. I'm not crazy." She looked at him and he saw the plea to believe her in the tears that were anxiously waiting to fall.

Something in his gut told him that she was telling the truth, but his conscious was screaming at him that she had gone hysterical. In all his years of working, he learned that sometimes the rational wasn't always true and it was best to follow what your gut was saying, no matter how absurd. He had worked with JJ long enough to know that she wouldn't make something like this up.

He pulled her into his arms and whispered that he believed her. He just needed to fully convince himself of that.

Morgan heard as the bat, once again, flew around his head. He watched it as it swiftly flew farther away. It landed in a tree above a white glowing bubble a fair ways away.

Considering how dark the surrounding area was, he was surprised he could trail the bat with his eyes that far. But nevertheless, he did.

He grabbed Prentiss' hand and dragged her towards the glow, much to her annoyance. She would rather run from danger instead of head towards it, especially when they were both unarmed.

They walked slowly and steadily towards the glow.

When they were a few trees away the outline of the object became more apparent. Upon closer inspection they concluded it the was "ghost" of a young girl. But how they could see her, they didn't understand.

The girl lifted her transparent head from her hunched form. She had silver tear tracks running down the side of her cheeks.

Prentiss looked at Morgan confused. His face mirrored hers before he turned and started to walk closer to the girl. Prentiss pulled his hand back but he refused and let go, thus causing their grip on each other to be lost.

"Morgan." Prentiss whispered, but he ignored. "MORGAN!" The frustration in her voice was inevitably distinctive. But, being the stubborn guy he was, he continued to ignore her.

"Hey," Morgan said gently while kneeling down so he was face to face with her. "what's wrong?"

"H-he made me do it." She hiccuped.

"Who?"

"The m-man. I don't know. He makes m-me do s-stuff. If I don't, he h-hurts me." The young girl, no older than seven cried. She stretched her arm and pulled up her cotton sleeve. The cotton reminded Morgan of clothes he had seen in pictures that represented clothes worn in the late 1800's if not early 1900's. But that was irrelevant to what she was trying to show him. She had large, hand print bruises marring her translucent skin.

"Where is this man? What did he make you do?" Morgan questioned. She might appear dead, but abuse was abuse, and Morgan was determined to help no matter the apparent "dead" factor that came into play.

"I don't know. He just shows up." She hiccuped through her sobs, but continued answering his questions. "He made me scare your friend. 'For the fun of it!' he says. I don't like doing it, it gives me a weird feeling in my tummy and throat."

Morgan instantly knew that she was referring to the feeling of remorse. He took pity on the girl, although he was beyond confused as to "how" he was seeing this girl, but the rational part of him dismissed itself once he saw her tears. His heart lurched for her.

The girl continued. "Does she hate me?" Her attention drawn towards Prentiss.

He turned to Prentiss who still had a weary look on her face. He outstretched his arm toward her to try and invite her over but she remained adamant about where she stood.

"ROSE!" All three turned towards the voice. There stood a young boy, approximately ten years old. His attention was obviously directed to the girl next to Morgan. "Come on. We must finish what we started."

Morgan and Prentiss turned back to examine the girls reaction.

She stood up and smiled. Her mouth opened and appeared to stretch until it engulfed her whole face and eventually the rest of her body. Then she was no longer in sight.

Morgan felt a cool wind blow past him.

Prentiss on the other hand, rather than feeling the chill blowing past her, she felt it go 'through' her. Her muscles tensed and her blood seemed to freeze. The hair on the nape of her neck stood immobile. Goosebumps tickled their way up her arms, back, neck - basically her whole body.

Then she fell to her knees and emptied the contents of her stomach unto the dirt beneath her.

Morgan rushed to her side and began to rub her shivering back while she tried to gain control of her erratic breathing.

They each heard laughing in the distance.

**So, what do you think? :D**

**Sorry about the delay. School has been hectic. I've also been lazy. Sorry about that. But I am working on another story...which, my apologies, but it's a one-shot that is considerably longer than this one currently is. I'm dedicating it to my Aunt. You'll see why once I post it if you care to look. :'( Don't know when it will be posted, but it's very difficult for me to write. **

**Anyways, this story hasn't been forgotten. Promise.**

**Oh, and seeing as how it's about 12:30 a.m. here on December 24th, Christmas Eve (Probably later once this actually gets posted), but "Merry Christmas" to those of you that celebrate and "Happy Holidays" to the rest of you. I don't know names of the other ways people celebrate. **


	5. They're Not Just Ghosts, Morgan!

**Hey People from around the globe that decided to be so kind and read my story,**

**How have you guys been? It's been awhile, hasn't it? I'm sorry about that. I really am. I could list plenty of reasons as to why I have been unable to write, but does it really matter? It's life, it happens, it's as simple as that. But please forgive me.  
**

**Anyways, I hope this chapter does justice...now let's see where it takes me.**

_Chapter 5: They're Not Just Ghosts, Morgan!_

"Aaron, I'm going to take Jack and go to sleep. It's getting late and he's barely keeping his eyes open." Haley commented to Aaron and then gave him a quick peck on the cheek. She turned around and picked Jack up from the leaves he was laying in. Together, they went to their tent and fell asleep.

Reid, on the other hand, was nervously trying to comfort JJ while Hotch and Rossi discussed their plan of action about JJ's break down and Morgan and Prentiss' whereabouts.

"They couldn't have gone far." Rossi started. "There should be plenty of twigs to find on the ground. We should still be able to see them, but we lost them two hours ago."

"Jack." There was a pause until the name was repeated. "Jack."

Slowly, Jack opened his eyes. Everything around him was foggy and his head hurt from being woken up too early. "That's it. Hi, my names Annabelle. I wanna play a game with you, but you have to be very quiet. Do you want to play as well?"

Jack looked around. He saw nothing but his mom sleeping a few inches from him. His brow furrowed and he rubbed his eyes a bit. When he focused his eyes he saw a dim light to his left. A child, barely older than Jack himself, was kneeling with her skirt flowing around her. She had an angelic glow surrounding her and a slight transparency through her skin. Her clothing looked nothing like the girls at his daycare wore. She spoke with both elegance and confidence structured into her sentences. Jack noticed that the only time he had seen girls wear and speak like she did was in older films he watched with his dad, but he could never tell you the era those characters were from.

Annabelle reached out her hand and offered it to Jack. "I want to play down by the river but I'm sure your parents might not let you. It will be a lot of fun. All you need to do is be very quiet and come with me, okay? I promise it will be fun and you'll meet all my friends as well. Would you care to join me?"

It took a few seconds for Jack to comprehend what she was asking and he had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind telling him to say no, but her warm, gentle eyes compelled him to nod his head and take her hand.

"That's it. Now, be very quiet. We can't let your dad or that other old guy see you." Annabelle unzipped the tent quickly but quietly, something Jack wouldn't have been able to do, and she led Jack around the tent and into the forest behind them.

Hotch and Rossi sat, unaware, as the youngest Hotchner disappeared from the camp site.

Prentiss' breathing had even out after a few long minutes. She was still shivering despite the humid weather out.

Morgan's hand rested on her lower back while he looked around to try and find any sign of life, or, in this case, dead people.

So far, the most either of them have heard were the gentle brushing of leaves on branches and the occasional owl. Both indicated that they were _somewhere_, but where? They didn't know.

"We came from that way," Morgan turned and pointed in the direction of a narrow path surrounded by trees. "I think."

"I could have sworn we just got turned around and we should head straight." Prentiss stood straight up and glanced in both directions. She corrected herself when she saw what direction he was looking in. "My straight, not yours."

"No, I would have remembered walking up a hill like the one we just came from. We never did." He turned toward his partner.

She sighed in response. "And I would have remembered a path that narrow. We never walked through there. I'm telling you, we came from that direction."

Morgan looked down and took a deep breath before looking back up and glancing at the trees that were around them. He took notice to the fact that the trees were Cypress Trees, but why they were here, he didn't know. Briefly he remembered one of the random facts the Reid spewed out on a slow day. He could remember that Reid had mentioned that Cypress Trees were used in cemeteries to slow down the rotting of the corpses, again, why he remembered that of all things, he didn't know. He continued to observe the trees when he felt a rope-like object beginning to snake its way around his ankles. He looked down and watched has roots _grew_ out of the ground. For a few moments he felt immobilized to do anything until he felt a ice cold hand wrap around his wrist. He looked up.

Prentiss' eyes were wide and her mouth slightly ajar. Her skin was deathly pale with hints of green and a purple tint around her eyes and lips. She wasn't looking at him, instead, at the the trees.

He followed her gaze and found eyes starring back at him. Not one pair, or two, but hundreds. Each one morphing from the trees. Then noses began to appear and eventually twisted, smiling mouths grinning sinisterly at them.

While watching as the trees transformed into faces, they failed to remember the roots growing around them. Finally they felt the rough bark crawl under their shirts and rub against their flesh.

Ants crawled off the roots and onto their smooth skin and began marking them.

Quickly, both Morgan and Prentiss reacted and tried peeling the roots from their bodies, but it was too no avail.

The branches lurched and pulled them to the ground. Their backs hit the dirt with a _thud_.

They tried sitting up but more roots grew and they continued to wrap around them. Eventually the roots snaked around their necks and started to choke them until they coughed. The darkness became more intense and they both began to feel light-headed and weak.

Prentiss' head slightly shifted to the side and she saw hands, children's hands, coming from the ground toward her face. She was about to scream but they blocked her mouth and covered her eyes. Her only senses left were both hearing and feeling. She felt the rough dirt beneath her rub against her skin. She felt hands running up and down her body while goosebumps formed in their wake. But she heard whispers from every direction. Behind every whisper was a different voice. A meaning. A purpose.

"Come play with me." A child's voice echoed in her ears.

Finally she heard a dulled buzz and her thoughts blurred together. She no longer felt alive. She no longer felt anything.

Eventually, Morgan soon followed.

Watching from a distance, Rose smiled as both the Profiler's bodies were engulfed and buried beneath the dirt and roots.


	6. Jack?

Jack and Annabelle had been walking for about five minutes before they reached a river.

Annabelle turned to Jack and took one of his hands with enthusiasms. "Are you ready to play the game?"

"I think so. What do I havta do?"

"First you have to go through the ritual so that we know you really want to play. Then the fun begins." She looked out at the river with a sinister smile. Similar to the Cheshire cat, only creepier. "You're going to go in the water and hold your breath as long as you can. When you come up, we will tell you if you're ready or not. Is that okay?"

"Yeah" His eyes lite up. "I can hold my breath for a really long time. I practice in my bath at home. My mommy says it's really cool and she would never be able to do it."

"So, are you ready?"

"Yeah!" He was bouncing on the balls of his feet as they continued the rest of the way down.

When they got in the water, Jack seemed to be excited to be playing the game. Annabelle, on the other hand, was excited for an entirely different reason.

"Okay, whenever you're ready." She whispered to him.

Jack took a deep breath, closed his eye, and finally pulled himself under the water. His feet left the ground as he didn't want to use any energy trying to keep them on the ground - so, he floated.

A couple seconds passed, then more and more. Jack could feel himself becoming lightheaded, but he wanted to push himself to the end. Finally, he told himself he could come up. Mentally, he counted to 45 seconds. He was hoping that would be enough.

His head started to come up but he felt a hand on the top of his head holding him down. He put his feet to the mud beneath his feet and tried using that as an extra boost. Nothing worked. He was being firmly held down. He opened his eyes to see another option but he was greeted with a sight that left his mouth hanging open. Hands were coming at him from every direction. Some grabbed his legs, others grabbed his arms. They all pulled him farther under the water. The first hand no longer held his head. He looked up and saw Annabelle above the water laughing manically.

Water had rushed into his mouth. When his lungs couldn't hold out any longer they gasped for breath. Then they started to burn as the water lodged itself in his lungs and throat.

Jack became dizzy and watched as darkness started swarming in from the edge of his eyes. His head became heavy and his arms felt like a deadweight. The hands left him and he was floating somewhere between the bottom of the river and the top. Although, he didn't have the energy to pull himself up. He just hung in the now peaceful abyss that was left before he lost all consciousness.

Haley mumbled something and turned on her side. She reached her hand out to wrap around Jack and help keep him warm, but all she reached were empty blankets. "Jack?"

She opened her eyes and saw exactly what her hands felt. No child, just blankets. Alarmed, she sat up quickly, looked around, and jumped out of the already open tent.

Her heart was pounding and her hands were shaking. Then her frantic eyes landed upon Hotch and Rossi.

"Aaron?" They turned around confused when they heard the trembling in her voice. "Have you seen Jack?"

"No, I thought he was with you." Suddenly he started to get up and was soon followed by Rossi.

"He's not with me. I woke up and he was gone."

"Well, he couldn't have gotten too far. I'll get the others." Rossi then rushed to their tents and quickly woke them up. They came out immediately.

When everyone was there, they started walking past Haley and Jack's tent, because if he went any other direction, they would have seen him.

They were walking for about five minutes, looking in every direction and only seeing trees and hearing the crunch of dead leaves beneath their feet.

At one point everyone heard a rustling and then a screech. They all turned to look at JJ who had a death grip on Reid's arm. Reid, uncomfortable and confused, asked, "What is it?"

"Something grabbed my leg. I don't know what it was, it felt like a hand. But it was there."

"JJ..." Hotch started but was cut off.

"Don't you JJ me. I felt it, dammit. I'm not delusional. I 'felt' it. I know I did. You have to believe me. Come here." She let go of Reid and got on her hand and knees to start sweeping away the leaves and dirt.

Again, Hotch sighed. Everyone looked at each other, unsure how to respond to their friends usual behavior. Hotch kneeled down and put a comforting hand on JJ's shoulder. "JJ, let's get going."

"NO!" She yelled. She was tired of them not believing her. She knows what she saw, she knows what she felt. She wouldn't let them walk away from something she was so adamant about proving. "It's here. We just have to keep - Oh my!" She gasped and fell back.

Hotch looked down and saw what she unburied. It was a human head. A child no less. It wasn't Jack, but he had an uncanny resemblance to Hotch's missing child.

Haley watched wide-eyed and tense. She wasn't sure how to respond. First she wanted to scream, or faint. She didn't know. But she was now more determined to find her son.

That is until she heard her son.

"MOMMY! MOMMY! Look, look what I can do!" Haley turned around to Jack's voice but never saw him.

"Jack? Where are you?" By now the team was watching her with mild curiosity but still fully aware of the body they had just uncovered.

"Don't you see me, Mommy? I'm right here." Haley felt a tugging on the hem of her Pajama's. She looked down but didn't see anything. All she saw were the ripples from the wind on her loose top.

"Jack?"

Everyone continued to watch her until they started hearing children laughing and what sounded like splashing coming from ahead of them. Reid looked beyond Haley and steady river not too far from them. He pointed it out and everyone walked over. Even Haley, who kept feeling the tugging of her shirt but saw nothing.

"Is that - NO!" Haley was looking at the river when she saw a body floating, head down, in the river. The body was wearing Jack's pajamas and had his hair.

They all rushed down and Hotch grabbed the kid from the water. Everyone backed away and watched as Rossi helped Hotch turn the kid over.


	7. Calm Before The Storm

**Let's just ignore my total leave of absence from this story. It's not that I forgot, I certainly didn't, it's just that every time I wrote something, it felt off. Oh, and I could have sworn that I wrote the Morgan/Prentiss scene in a notebook during class and I have no idea where it is. But here it is! It may or may not sound forced, you tell me. That might just be a biased opinion. And I am going to try and have this finished by the time school starts back up. I'm going back for my sophomore year of college. Woo! *sarcasm* Can you guys believe that? I started writing this story my junior year of high school. Crazy! It also points out my lack of updates again. Again, I am soooo sorry! I can't promise that you will get another update soon (we see how well these past two years have been.), buuuuut I do believe there is only 1 or 2 more chapters after this one. I can literally only see the end from here on out. So that's motivation to write! But if you have ideas, please tell me! **

Chapter 7 – Calm Before The Storm

Morgan lungs felt heavy. It was difficult to breathe. He coughed violently to eject the dirt from his throat and lungs. Slowly, he opened his eyes after he wiped away the grains of dirt with the tips of his fingers.

His surroundings were quiet. The trees stood immobile around him and there were no childish laughter whispering through the wind.

He looked down toward the rest of his body and noticed that he was above the ground. He could have sworn he was pulled beneath before he blacked out from the lack of oxygen. He sat up and brushed the dirt from him clothes.

When he remembered that he wasn't alone, he frantically started searching for his partner and friend. He spotted her quickly about five feet away. Her head was buried shallowly, only a thin layer of dirt covered her face while the rest of her body was submerged beneath the ground. He ran over to her quickly and brushed the dirt from her face before digging around her body which would enable him to pull her out of the makeshift grave.

When he sat her up and placed his arm around her back to lift her up, dirt fell from her lips and she started to violently cough. One hand gripped his forearm while the other held her throat to try and soothe the burning and scratching the dirt caused.

He rubbed soothing circles on her back while she trembled. After a few moments and the coughing stopped, she was breathing heavily now that oxygen was allowed back in her lungs. When he asked her if she was okay, she simply nodded instead of trusting her voice to speak for her.

Slowly they stood up with the support of the other. Prentiss scratchy voice finally broke the silence between them when she stated, "We need to find the others."

Morgan only nodded and took her hand in his before they walked in any direction, hoping it would lead them to their friends.

CM

It was Jack. The body they had found was most certainly Jack. His eyes were wide open – bloodshot and immobile. A purple hue marred his tiny lips. And his once untarnished skin supported ghastly purple and green bruising. Those unwelcoming features indicated to the adults the first stage of death.

When Rossi heard Haley gasp, he saw her body start to waver and rushed to her side.

Haley felt lightheaded and quickly felt for Rossi's outstretched arm as she lowered herself to a seated position. The sticks underneath her were no comparison to the lump blocking the oxygen to her lungs. She tried to breath, but the shock nerved her. Swallowing allowed little room for air, but right now the emotional turmoil of seeing her son not breathing – dead - was overbearing.

Rossi lowered himself and then pulled Haley's head to his chest while he rocked her back and forth. His hands rubbed soothing circles on her back and he whispered 'shh' into her ear in an attempt to calm her down.

At the same time, Hotch had put his arm underneath his son's knees and neck and pulled him from the water. He walked as fast as he could against the resistance of the water and the hands beneath pulling at his legs to prevent him from getting to the others. After a few tough pulls, he was able to break their grips and ran until he reached the edge of the water. He laid his son down quickly but softly.

Reid had come up opposite him. He started rambling various facts about drowning victims and CPR, but all Hotch heard was "there's only a very small chance of survival without medical help."

So Hotch was going to take that chance.

He felt Jack's neck for a pulse. It was faint, but it was there. He leaned Jack's head back gently to open the air passageway and gently, but firmly, breathed air into his son's lungs.

Haley sat a few feet away with tears quickly running down her face. Rossi's arms around her did nothing to ease the terror she felt in her chest. She repeatedly murmured 'no.'

Jack's ghost kneeled next to her, desperately trying to get her to acknowledge him. His fingers tugged at her sleeve. "Mommy? Why are you crying? I'm right here."

But her eyes remained on the body of the boy lying lifelessly on the ground.

Meanwhile, JJ sat on the ground with her arms wrapped around her knees while rocking back and forth. Her eyes didn't blink. Instead she kept looking between all the children surrounding her friends. There were hundreds. They stretched from as far as she could see into the trees to deep into the pond. They all laughed and clapped - giddy from the excitement at the prospect of a new child joining them.

At the same time, Jack stepped away from his mom and placed a hand on his head. His brow was furrowed and he looked deeply confused. His ghost started to slowly move back toward his body, not quite ready to leave. He whimpered, "Mommy, I feel light headed."

The other children stopped laughing and some started shouting in protest.

Hotch continued to breathe oxygen into his son's lungs. Within a few moments, Jack's lungs started to breathe again on their own and the boy coughed violently. Hotch's eyes lit up and he held his son firmly to his chest once the coughing subsided.

Although, then the wind chilled around him and he felt an eerie sense of dread that sent goose bumps through him. He could sense that this was just the calm before the storm.

**For anyone who may or may not be interested, I have a Flashpoint multi-chapter fic that I also haven't forgotten. But better news! If There are any fantasy fanatics, I have 3 Merlin multi-chapter fics I am working on (that won't be posted until complete or close to complete so I don't leave you guys hanging.) but I really like them. So keep an eye out for those! (You can see where my obsession has gone...)**

**Happy reading guys!**

_**Never hesitate to ask for a one-shot or short story!**_

**Oh yeah. And I forgot to mention, if you're going to review my story and sign in as a guest, please don't use my username. That's all I ask. Thank you! **


	8. The End of the Beginning

**Hello everyone! I said in the last chapter that I would try and get this chapter out before school started. I'm sorry I didn't hold up to that promise. Classes started this morning. Oh well, phish posh, close enough! It's FINALLY complete! I hope I did the ending justice! I'm terribly sorry it took me 3 years to write this, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!**

Chapter 8 - The End of the Beginning

"Come on, Aaron. We need to get out of here." Rossi's voice seemed to snap the rest of the group to attention.

Hotch pulled away from his son in order to place his arms under Jack's back and legs and then lifted him to his chest while standing up. "We need to find Emily and Derek first."

Some of the children seemed to have disappeared and the others looked outraged. In union, they all started screaming. The birds woke up and flew from their nests. The wind picked up and the leaves started to twirl around them. The shrill pitch in their scream caused the group to flinch and instinctively cover their ears, but nothing stopped the sound from continuing to echo through their minds.

Their pace picked up and they ran toward the campsite.

Prentiss continued to grip Morgan's hand, not daring herself to let go.

Morgan's hand was numb but he didn't care at the moment. His heart was racing and sweat dripped from his brow down the side of his face. His lungs burned from exhaustion but neither wanted to stop to rest. So they continued to run with no sense of direction through the trees.

After a short while, Prentiss' foot got caught on something protruding from the ground. Her grip on Morgan got released as she fell to the ground. Her hands landed on loose dirt and her hands brushed against something squishy.

She sat up on her knees and pressed her right arm to her while and the other to her chest. Her breathing labored and forced.

"Come on, Emily, we have to go." Derek attempted to put his hands underneath her upper arms and help her stand, but she brushed him away.

She held one finger up at him. "Need to breathe."

Derek would have argued but a short reprieve from running was needed for them both. He continued to keep his eyes open and searched the shadows for anything lurking in them.

"Derek." Prentiss whispered. Her voice sounded strained and afraid. When he looked down at her, she wasn't look at him; instead her wide eyes were directed toward the ground.

He followed the trajectory of her eyes and all the air in his lungs he just gained back was lost again.

There, where her hand had just brushed the dirt on the ground, was a pale, ghastly looking face staring back up at them. Green eyes stood immobile and blond hair reached around her neck. Dirt had buried its way inside her mouth and blood rimmed her lips.

They had just unburied a woman's grave. A fresh grave, no less, as this woman looked to be only a few days into the stages of death. Maggots had welcomed themselves to her body and were crawling around. When Emily noticed this, she fell back and away from the body. She would have screamed if any oxygen had been left after the shock.

Realization dawned on them both as they noticed this woman death was only a day or two prior to today.

This could have been them.

They had just escaped from the exact same method of dying only a few minutes before. They each had been buried alive and the same fate had been waiting for them.

Rather than stick around to uncover more, Emily leap to her feet and grabbed Derek's hand to pull him along.

They didn't want out – they needed out!

They had been running for approximately five more minutes before the tents from the campsite appeared in their view. They sprinted and prayed the rest of the team were there.

Or, better yet, still alive.

When they arrived, the campsite was empty. They each looked around for anyone, anywhere, but no one appeared.

A few seconds later, the crunching of leaves echoed around them. It wasn't the brief crunch, it was more like a stampede. Almost afraid of what they could find heading toward them, they each looked in each other's eyes before turning their heads.

The rest of the team came into view a few seconds later. They looked exhausted and Jack still looked pale and dead weighted in Aaron's arms.

"Hurry, we need to get in the vehicles." Rossi ordered immediately upon seeing his two co-workers.

Everyone rushed into the vehicles and drove off, leaving the tents and laughing children behind.

It was well into the night and Jack was sleeping comfortably and soundly in his own bed. The team had returned home three nights ago and they had all attempted to forget the events from the forest. Aaron and Haley Hotchner had been reluctant the past few nights to leave Jack alone but they knew that they needed to move past the events from the weekend. Jack hadn't suffered from any nightmares yet and they didn't want to dwell on their own. Jack was safe at home. No more harm could come to him here.

Or so they thought.

"Jack!" A hushed whisper said. It took another few times calling his name before the young boy stirred. He yawned and stretched his arms above his head. His eyes opened slowly and he rubbed them with the knuckles on his fingers. Then he blinked a few times to get his bearings. "Hello there, Jack!"

"Annabelle!" Jack sat up quickly and excitedly shouted the ghost's name.

Quickly she held a finger to her lips to get him to speak in a softer tone. "Shh, Jack. We don't want your parents to hear us. They don't like us."

He lowered his voice but continued to smile at them. "What are you doing here?"

"We missed you, Jack!" Jack looked around and noticed for the first time that all the other children from the forest were surrounding his bed. They were all smiling happily if not a little mischievously. Annabelle's eyes twinkled and she leaned forward slightly. "Now, are you ready to finish that game?"


End file.
